Roo Sakala

Music: "She's a Rainbow" by The Rolling Stones   Sometimes perfect sunny days hid more than they revealed. The bright white sunlight showed all of the cracks in the buildings, the patched and stained tents, the precarious shacks in the shanty town of Moros, and the mud and rubbish in the streets. It was a place for the desperate, the hiding, the down and out, and people who rejected society or whom society had rejected. Most people in Olympia could only see Moros in that harsh light -- and they weren't wrong to. All of that was there.   But sometimes in the rain that bright white light would break into its parts revealing a dazzling rainbow. Roo's mind had been fractured at a young age by a power hungry cult leader and a deadly drug that had left her an orphan and stolen her ability to speak. But the bright light of Onni's and V's love and care had shone through her broken pieces and colored her world. In the cracks in the buildings she saw the resilience of the neighborhood that had largely been abandoned by the rest of the city. The patched and stained tents were a kaleidoscope of color that showed the determination and creativity of the people who had scavenged shelter from the recycle yards of Borrowtown and always -- always--there were touches that were there for no reason but to make something beautiful. The shanties showed the ingenuity of people who turned whatever resources they could find into a home.   Of course if she had had the power to transform those tents and shanties into safe housing she would do it in an instant. She was under no illusion that this was a way of life that was good for people. She didn't dare go into the tunnel part of the borough alone after members of the Hidden Trail Cult had tried to kill her a second time. She saw and treated diseases, injuries, and overdoses. And she and V had lost Onni too young to a violent death.   But if a person only saw the the bad, they missed out on the profound generosity of people who knew that they only way anyone gets through life here is together, who shared what little they had with their neighbors, who took in stray dogs and cats, and who did their best to give their children joy in the midst of pain. Most Olympians avoided Moros. But the people here were her community and she loved them.   And last night it had rained- buckets of rain with wind and lightning. She, V, and now the wonderful Keira and Ox took seriously the privilege and responsibility of having one of the handful of brick and mortar buildings with mostly reliable electricity and running water in the neighborhood. They had opened the doors of The Post Office and neighbors whose tents and shacks could not protect them from a storm like this came streaming in to shelter in the bar for the night, getting what sleep they could in a place that was warm and dry.   Nobody had slept much. There weren't enough pillows and blankets to make everyone comfortable. She had set up the hammock from her bedroom in the bar for some kids after the clinic beds and cushioned booths had been used by pregnant women and the elderly. Lots of people had colds that would undoubtedly spread in close quarters like this. Between making and handing out hot tea, hot cocoa, and soup, Roo had spent much of the night making elderberry syrup with just a hint of magic to help stop the cold while it was still a cold and not pneumonia. Her pale freckled hands were stained a deep purple by the time she was done. Another beautiful color in the mix.   She was up early, making coffee and oatmeal to feed tired bodies and hungry bellies while V helped organize a line for the clinic's shower and Keira provided medical care. It was a simple meal -- they couldn't afford to feed that many people anything fancier for free. But people were happy to have it and the sense of camaraderie was real.   Roo knew that despite appearances the crew at The Post Office weren't saviors of their neighbors in any way that their neighbors weren't saving them in return. It was the love, support, and protection of the community that kept the loan sharks who used to own this building -- and whom Roo believed, but could not prove, had killed Onni--from daring to reclaim it. She, her sister, and her friends needed this community just as much as the community needed a safe place to come for gatherings, medical care, and meals.   Outside the sun began to shine through the rain. One of the local kids pointed out the rainbow through the window.